Rajung Yang

Piano soloist

Born in Seoul, South Korea, Rajung Yang began her piano studies at the age of 4. She received her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in piano from Seoul National University, where she studied with Kwi-Hyun Kim, and completed her dissertation on Nine Bagatelles by William Bolcom. In 2003, she moved to the United States to continue her graduate study at the University of Michigan. Yang received her second Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts in piano performance under the tutelage of Arthur Greene and Logan Skelton. Additional studies include collaborative piano with Martin Katz and Katherine Collier, and harpsichord with Edward Parmentier.

Yang has won several top prizes in national and international competitions including Ibla Grand Prize and Bartok-Kabalevsky-Prokofiev Competitions in Italy in 2005. Subsequent performances included her debut recital at New York's Carnegie Hall, and performances inBoston, Washington D.C., Virginia and other major venues in Italy. In 2007, she won the University of Michigan Concerto Competition and this resulted in an appearance with the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kenneth Kiesler at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor. Yang was also awarded third prize at the William Byrd International Competition in Michigan, where her performance of Paganini Rhapsody by Rachmaninoff gained the most favorable reception by local critics.

Rajung Yang, Piano

As a dedicated advocate for the 20th and 21st centuries’ music, Yang has performed and premiered new works as either a soloist or collaborator in numerous festivals and conferences in the U.S., Sotuh Korea and Europe. Two of her dissertation recitals at the University of Michigan featured solely contemporary piano music by such composers as Maurice Ohana, Bright Sheng, William Bolcom, Nikolai Kapustin and George Crumb.

Yang is an assistant professor of piano at the University of Idaho Lionel Hampton School of Music where she teaches collaborative piano. Prior to her appointment at the University of Idaho, Yang taught at Adrian College in Michigan and the University of Michigan.